Racing News: July 2 Morning Report

Boston Marathon Registration Begins on September 14 The application process for the 2016 Boston Marathon is similar to the previous three years. Runners who have met qualifying standards by 20 minutes or more begin applying on September 14, those who qualified by 10 minutes or more apply two days after that, and those who made the standards by five minutes or more can apply an additional two days later, until September 19. There will be additional registration periods if any spaces remain. More

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Are Usain Bolt’s World Championships Title Defenses in Jeopardy? Bolt, a six-time Olympic gold medalist who may be track’s only true household name, won the 100 and 200 and joined Jamaica’s victorious 4x100 relay at the 2013 world championships. But Bolt has raced sparingly in 2014 and 2015, and now, with a sacroiliac joint problem that’s causing discomfort in his left leg, he has canceled appearances at track meets in Paris and Lausanne and is seeking treatment in Germany. With time running out to get ready for the world championships in Beijing on August 22, American Justin Gatlin has, for now, taken over as the planet’s dominant sprinter. More

Shalane Flanagan Leads Team America at Peachtree Fresh from a second-place finish in the 10,000 at the USATF Outdoor Championships, Flanagan is captain of the American forces at the Peachtree Cup international team competition at the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta on July 4. Gebre Gebremariam (Team Africa), Daniele Meucci (Team Europe), and Yusuke Hasegawa (Team Asia) are the other captains. If you’re up early enough on Thursday, you can find a link to a live press conference here, along with a live stream link for Saturday’s 10K race. More

Lindsey Scherf Lowers Her Marathon PR By Five Minutes to 2:32 The 28-year-old Harvard grad and reigning USATF 25K champion ran 2:32:19 for second place at Grandma’s Marathon on June 20. After weekly two-and-a-half hour runs in preparation for her previous marathon, Scherf did nothing longer than one hour and 45 minute sessions for Grandma’s. “If you simulate a marathon too often in training, you can dig yourself a hole,” she says. Scherf credits long-time coach Mike Barnow for helping her overcome “the mindset that I have to finish every day completely spent.” More

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Abbey D’Agostino Is Ready for Track’s International Stage The winner of multiple NCAA titles at Dartmouth College, now a New Balance pro, earned her way into the world championships in Beijing with a third place in the 5,000 meters last weekend at the U.S. championships in a personal best of 15:06.59. For the next month she’ll be based in Belgium and will have races in Ireland and England. Then D’Agostino will train with the American team in Japan for two weeks before heading to Beijing, she told the Salem News. More

Kenyans Will Make Presence Felt in Paris on July 4 The women’s 5,000 world record attempt by Ethiopians Genzebe Dibaba and Almaz Ayana at a Diamond League meet in Paris will not be a two-women contest, as the Daily Nation reports. Kenya’s world cross country champion Agnes Jebet and world championships silver medalist Mercy Cherono are also entered, along with former Iowa State star Betsy Saina, a recent runner-up in the New York Mini 10K. Silas Kiplagat and James Magut will represent Kenya in the men’s 1500 in Paris. More

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